Understanding Cryptocurrency Key Derivation
Why different wallets generate different addresses from the same seed phrase
Quick Summary
Your 12-word seed phrase is like a master key that can generate millions of addresses (BIP-39). However, different wallets use different "derivation paths" - mathematical routes to generate these addresses (BIP-32/BIP-44). This means the same seed phrase can produce different addresses depending on which wallet you use.
Common Solana Derivation Paths
Select different wallet implementations to see how they derive addresses
m/44'/501'/0'/0'Standard BIP-44 with account-level hardening
m/44'/501'/0'Shortened path without change/address components
m/501'/0'/0'/0'Early Solana wallet implementation
m/44'/501'/0'/0/0Hardware wallet standard with non-hardened components
m/44'/501'/1'/0'Alternative account index
Phantom Implementation
m/44'/501'/0'/0'Standard BIP-44 with account-level hardening
Most common Solana wallet implementation
Technical Deep Dive
About Our Solana Key Browser
Our key browser demonstrates the mathematical relationships between seed phrases and generated addresses. It creates a deterministic, alphabetically-ordered sequence of all possible 12-word BIP-39 combinations, showing how each seed phrase maps to specific Solana addresses using our custom derivation implementation.
Key Features:
- Deterministic ordering: Seeds arranged alphabetically by BIP-39 word index
- Instant navigation: Jump to any seed phrase position using mathematical conversion
- Educational purpose: Demonstrates cryptographic principles in action
- Client-side security: All computations happen in your browser via WebAssembly